KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): AirAsia Bhd said its plans to list Indonesia AirAsia (IAA) and Philippines AirAsia (PAA) are well under way, with the two units listed by the first quarter of 2018.

"That's very much in progress. Indonesia is probably ahead of Philippines but both are going to be listed. This gives us the currency to look at combining into one AirAsia, which is my ultimate dream.

"Let's just say they will be listed within this year or the first quarter of next year," said AirAsia group chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, on the sidelines of Invest Malaysia 2017 today.

He said that while the market was bearish on IAA and PAA when the two units were in the red, the group still saw great value in the two companies.

"I've highlighted to the market that AirAsia is not a company that takes short-term decisions, while the market was telling us to close down the Indonesia and Philippines units.

"We're a company that takes a long-term view and we invest for the long term. Not for short-term quarterly profits," he said.

In February, Fernandes revealed his "ultimate" plan to combine its Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines operations under a single, listed ASEAN holding company, following improvements in the operations of its units.

On the group's disposal of its aircraft listing unit Asia Aviation Capital Ltd, he said AirAsia is now working out the final details.

"We are not being pushed to hurry the sale and we want to make sure that when we sell it, we are not burdened with extra costs. We are taking our time to make sure we have the best deal.

"We are confident that that will be done this year," he added.

In March, news reports quoting sources stated that a South Korean group, Korea Transportation Asset Management, was in advanced talks to acquire a stake in the unit.